Wide and airy brimmed  hat with a long string tied under the chin.

The brim of the  hat was a bit wider and more decorative than mine, so they weren’t exactly identical. Still, they looked similar at first glance.

I smiled slightly.

“Yeah, they’re twins, like us.”

It was the cleanest response based on experience. Eciel liked things related to twins. Seeing her smile back at me, it seemed like I hit the mark.

After Eciel finished dressing up, we all walked outside the mansion together.

Eciel came next to me, skipping up and down, and tightly held my hand.

As if she thought it wouldn’t be heard by Mom and Dad, she added a tiny whisper.

“I’m so nervous.”

“Why?”

“They say the capital is crowded and complex. What if we get lost there?”

If you went there, you wouldn’t have any time to be alone since you were Princess Chelsiers.

There were many other things I could have said, but I asked the question that I was most curious about.

“Why does getting lost make you nervous?”

“In fairy tales, when a princess gets lost, a knight always appears, right? Don’t I look like a princess right now?”

If there was a perfect analysis book that completely analyzed Eciel’s thought process, I sincerely wanted to read it.

“…Eciel. You may look like a princess, but not actually a princess.”

“Then what about the knight?”

“Even if he seems like a knight, he wouldn’t actually be one. Just like you’re not what you seem.”

Swindlers, kidnappers, thieves…

I was considering mentioning various realistic options, but I closed my mouth when I saw Eciel’s expression, her hopes and dreams shattered with disappointment.

Still, Eciel mustered up some courage and whispered to me.

“It’s okay. We don’t have to meet a knight. When we get to the capital, let’s go to ‘The Loop’ together.”

“…is that a store from a fairy tale?”

“No, it’s real. Remember Nathan? He said so. His father bought cream soda there, and it was really delicious. Will you come with me?”

That wasn’t something I could decide alone. I turned my gaze slightly to look at Dad.

He seemed to have heard every word of the conversation we had. He smiled slightly and gestured with his eyes, indicating that it was okay.

Feeling relieved, I replied.

“Alright. If the store is still there and not closed down, I’ll go with you.”

“Promise!”

Eciel exclaimed cheerfully and then whispered softly after hesitating for a moment.

“But Claire, what if the cream soda is more expensive than we thought?”

It was an innocent question.

Walking out of the front  door and to the end of the stairs, we headed towards the carriage we took when we first arrived at this mansion.

I glanced back for a moment.

The view of the house we stayed in for a week remained the same as when we first saw it. Elegant, majestic, and overwhelming.

“It probably won’t be so expensive that we can’t afford it.”

I could tell that much without asking Dad. Someone who could afford to leave such a house in a place like this probably wouldn’t hesitate to spend money on that.

Dad ushered Mom into the carriage first and then gently handed Eciel over to Mom.

Then he reached out to me.

His sharp eyes softened suddenly.

“Other than cream soda?”

“I’ll ask Eciel.”

Dad listened to my answer and shook his head.

“Ask Eciel, but also ask yourself. What do you want to eat, what do you want to do, or what do you want to have.”

Before I could react to his words, he carefully put me down on the seat and turned around.

With a few words of advice, he also got in, and the butler politely closed the  door.

Now we were really setting off.

Forgetting to finish my sentence, I was momentarily captivated by the view outside the window.

The employees left behind at the mansion greeted us like a flowing stream. Knights and attendants mounted on ponies were gradually starting to move around the front and back of the carriage.

This orderly scene.

It was adorned with the authority, formality, and power of a mighty family.

Very slowly, I had a feeling that I would remember this moment for the rest of my life.

 

—

 

After a smooth three-day journey, we arrived in Listar. We even passed the somewhat worrying resistance test quickly and easily.

But the officials seemed to be preparing for the worst, despite both Eciel and I being fine.

‘But this isn’t our fault.’

The maintenance and management of gates became significantly more difficult depending on how far they were connected and how many were connected.

So, the gates connected to the first-grade gate of the capital were only four major cities that formed the hubs of the cardinal directions.

The second-grade gates of those four cities were each connected to gates of other cities, forming a hierarchical connection.

Among them, the gate in Listar was a fifth-grade gate.

In other words, it was the lowest-ranking gate.

Except for local codes, officials, and nearby nobles who regularly used the gate, it was hardly used by anyone else.

Listar was just such a peaceful city.

‘Perhaps even the civil servants here enjoyed a leisurely life in this small town where they only encountered familiar faces.’

So, wasn’t the appearance of the giant figure like Duke Chelsiers felt like a thunderbolt in a clear sky to these people?

Moreover, wasn’t Duke Chelsiers famous for marrying the daughter of the deposed emperor?

And such a person even brought along little girls, who were unmistakably related by blood.

It was truly an unprecedented event.

Those who were content with a relaxed and peaceful life must be suffering now, perhaps even to the point of headaches.

’But surely there are some who see this as an opportunity.’

No matter which newspaper company this news was passed to, it was bound to be a major scoop.

How much the newspaper would pay, how securely they would protect the informant’s identity…

By now, those people must be plagued by such worries.

The extremes of emotions were so evident that there was nothing to do but remain quiet.

As we were leaving with confirmation of gate access, Eciel murmured softly on the way out.

“They seem tired and busy. Do civil servants always work this hard?”

I swallowed a frank reply that those people were probably the most leisurely in the city until we arrived.

“Perhaps today is particularly tough for them. Since it’s their affair, don’t worry too much.”

Eciel nodded at my words but wore a somewhat pitiful expression.

Most likely because almost all the personnel of the Listar Gate Administration Bureau were rushing out in disarray before our eyes.

Even the director nervously paced around, looking at my father for approval.

It was pitiable for him… my father seemed annoyed by the excessive deference.

‘It can’t be helped.’

It was burdensome enough just with Duke Chelsiers, but now with the director appearing, one wondered how the subordinates were faring.

With neither the luggage nor the personnel being scarce, there was plenty to do. However, with minor mistakes continuing, the procedures were endlessly delayed.

Moreover, there were no waiting rooms here, unlike usual, where work was scarce and smooth.

‘I suppose we’ll have to stand here a while longer…’

Did they have the same thought? Suddenly, my father looked at us.

I felt a fleeting worry in his annoyed expression.

Being alone without our mother felt like being on a deserted island and made me feel uneasy.

“But there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Currently, Mom was considered a relative of the deposed ruler and realistically, she was no more than a condemned prisoner.

The emperor’s promise to spare her had not been publicly announced yet.

So, Mom decided to enter the Gate Administration Bureau disguised as extra personnel, separate from us.

She promised to return once the carriage and cargo inspection was over.

‘…of course, nobody expected the office work to be delayed like this.’

Eciel and I spent some time like that.

Then my younger sister whispered softly again.

“Claire, the Duke seems to be a much higher-ranking person than I imagined.”

So far, we had only frequented secluded places with few people. Unless he was a fallen noble in a difficult situation, we’d never seen a real aristocrat.

In Eciel’s vague imagination, the benchmark for the ‘Duke’ was probably the most affluent person we’d ever seen.

She thought that the duke was probably someone with a better house, more employees, and greater wealth.

But even if some immense figures were to come, not all office workers would rush out to greet him.

Eciel understood that too.

People glanced at my father intermittently, becoming paler by the minute, and Eciel watched them silently.

I calmly replied to my sister.

“It’ll mean nothing once we reach the capital.”

Eciel looked at me in surprise.

“Eciel, how many people have you shown respect to so far?”

“… I don’t know. Too many.”

“Dad probably hasn’t respected more than thirty people in his entire life.”

Eciel blinked. She seemed almost puzzled, and her softly questioning voice was dejected as if she was embarrassed.

“Is that possible?”

I looked down, staring at the floor. Eciel followed my gaze, looking down as well.

“Do you remember the floor of the mansion we were in? How does this compare?”

After hesitating, Eciel whispered to me, quieter than ever before.

So quietly that I could barely hear.

“It seems better there.”

I responded plainly.

“The ‘Duke’ is that kind of person.”

The Gate Administration building was built by the state. So, naturally, it was clean, spacious, and luxurious.

Our father was such a person.

Though it was difficult to make a simple comparison, he owned a much better house than the state facility and could easily leave whenever he wanted.

Eciel’s eyes, strangely, looked at our father before landing on me. My purple eyes reflected in her deep green ones.

Unwavering, calm, dry…

The lively green eyes of my sister contrasted sharply with the indifferent ones of mine.

Yet, Eciel held my hand tightly.

“But even so, as long as Mom and Dad are together, and Claire tells me everything by my side, I’ll be fine.”